


Daily Clark

by fairytalehearts



Series: Daily Lois [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), Superman - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Headcanon, this does not follow any sort of existing continuity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 13:56:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9237944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytalehearts/pseuds/fairytalehearts
Summary: Clark's perspective on a few things. FollowsPages





	

**FIVE YEARS AGO- CLARK**

 

> @DailyLois: No one at the Daily Planet has a Twitter account. I am shocked and appalled
> 
> @JimmyTheOlsen: @DailyLois, it's the first day here. Chill.
> 
>  

Glancing down at his phone, he double-checked the time and was glad he wasn’t late. His first day at an actual paper and he was nervous and excited and wow- getting a fellowship to the Daily Planet was more than he could have hoped for.

He supposed all the journalism awards in college helped, but making a name for himself (other than as a hero) was something he needed in his life.  Getting a temporary security badge from the front desk he clipped it on to his lapel and followed the doorman’s directions to HR.

Orientation, Paperwork, More Paperwork, getting a laptop from IT and his own desk in the bullpen. He could hardly contain himself. Setting up his desk, he pulled out the file organizer his mom had packed him and the award he won junior year for his piece on Election Rigging in New York.

Pens, pencils, his dad was a little old-school but he put them in the extra coffee mug and waited for his senior reporter to come find him.

“Wow when they said you were from Smallville they really meant it.” A voice said to his left.

Clark tipped his chair back and stuck his hand out, “Clark Kent. Reporter.”

“Jimmy Olsen. Photographer. I started yesterday.”

Jimmy’s desk was covered in every imaginable kind of tech, memory cards, seven different cameras, five different bags and a black box which he assumed held lenses. There was no way he started yesterday.

Jimmy looked at his desk and shrugged. “Isn’t one of the tenants of Boy Scouts always be prepared?”

Clark shrugged, “I was too busy helping my dad with the farm to be in boy scouts.”

Jimmy’s laugh was infectious and the two of them high-fived. They would be good friends; Clark was sure of it. While he was laughing he noticed three things with his super powers: one, several doors slamming above the bullpen, two, someone shouting and three, the entire senior staff of the Daily Planet walking out of the building with their boxes.

“Well QUIT THEN!”

Jimmy noticed it about two seconds later than he did but his eyes widened in shock, “Oh shit. Is that the entire senior staff?”

It was easy to see them all marching out, the senior offices all faced a small walkway that led to Perry White’s office- and they all had to cross the bullpen to leave. It was designed by some famous architect in the 30’s so the former editor of the paper could look down at his writing staff.

The woman across from him suddenly stood up and grabbed her phone. “Bring the camera, Jimmy. CAMERA!”

The first thing he thought was that the woman was gorgeous. The second thing was that she was crazy because she was dictating notes into her phone about the walkout while she headed for the staircase that led up to Perry’s office. Personal facts about each of the senior staff and where they might be headed next. She even debated whether or not the evening edition would get printed on time. The woman was 75% in favor of it not going to press.

Clark found himself following behind her taking his own notes about the bullpen below. It was dead silent.

“Cat Grant has been with The DP since 1981, She started as Mr. White’s secretary during the Reagan Administration and scooped the then, Reporter White, by talking to the Mayor’s secretary for intel about his upcoming visit with the Vice President. Jimmy I don’t hear the shutter clicking.”

“Damn, Lois.” He made a face at the brunette and pressed the button down dramatically. “Front Page: Lois Lane, Human Disaster, Makes Entire Staff of the Daily Planet quit.”

Lois knocked on the door to Perry’s office like she owned the place but got now answer. “Oh Jimmy, sweet Jimmy. How about: Lois Lane, New Head Writer of the Daily Planet maims Head Photography Director over his incompetence.”

Jimmy made a “Who Me?” gesture with his hands before looking at all of the empty offices. Apparently they were all getting raises if Lois had her way. Something told Clark that she always got her way.

“They all left and the world did not stop turning.” Lois turned to address the bullpen. “If you’re leaving: Leave. If you’re staying: Start typing. We can’t get the paper copy out tonight but we sure as shit can do digital. I want a roster of who’s staying and anyone in IT to come find me. Anyone got a problem with the new world order?”  

No one said anything and they went back to work.

Lois finally noticed him standing next to Jimmy. “Who the hell are you?”

“Lois remember when we all got offer letters and mine said come Monday and yours said come Tuesday and you came on Monday anyway? He’s the other Tuesday.”

“Clark Kent.” Clark offered his hand for her to shake it and she looked at it like it was dirty.

She _turned up her nose at him_ like a cartoon cat and practically snarled, “I don’t share bylines.”

“That’s cute Lois, because I’m assuming Cat Grant took her copywriter, and all of the editors left so either we do this together or no one proofreads anything you write ever. Because unlike you I learned some people’s names during orientation and don’t have an inflated ego the size of the bullpen.”

Her forehead was practically touching his own and if they were any closer they’d be kissing. She was tall in heels and looked like she was about to kill him. Good. He liked a challenge. And something about her just bothered him, her attitude, her blatant disregard for anyone else, the way her green eyes brightened when she was angry. That was especially bothersome. He'd never interviewed a mass murder but he likened the look to some sort of psychopath. 

Assuming she'd calmed her self down enough to talk like a human being he started again, “Now. Do you think this as anything to do with Perry’s wife leaving him?”

“How the hell did you figure that out?”

Clark gently turned Lois head so she could look through the glass door where Perry was crying over a picture Clark assumed was his wife.

His hand was still underneath her chin and he yanked it back. Exhaling loudly, he hoped Jimmy hadn’t seen him but of course Jimmy had. The two of them shared a strained look, but Lois was none the wiser.

“You and CK handle the boss man, I’m going to go get facilities to open the damn door.”

“CK?”

“You always introduce yourself as Clark Kent. It’s a very Smallville thing to do.” Jimmy winked before running towards the elevator. Great his buffer had left him with the crazy woman.

Lois scoffed at that but Clark could tell the wheels were spinning in her head already. They had to report the news but not drag Perry through the mud in the process. “Smallville, are you gonna snap at me if I ask you to get witness statements?”

“Are you going to snap at me for asking you to get my stuff from my desk when you inevitably move into Cat Grant’s office?” It was the largest office and if they were getting promoted, they'd have to get new staff writers for the bullpen.

“Yes. I'm not your maid and just because I'm a woman doesn't give you the right-”

“-Well, I’ll bring coffee back as an apology then.” Clark tried to keep the blatant flirtation out of his tone and failed. Lois almost smiled. Almost. But then she was speed-walking in heels back towards Perry’s office.

“Boss, you better open this door before I blowtorch the hinges off!”

He gets the statements and when he comes back Lois is pushing two desks together in Cat’s office while someone from IT hooks up a monitor in viewing distance of both desks. Tweets started scrolling a minute later.

Lois didn’t look up from her computer but she did start sipping the coffee he got her. Two creams, no sugar, splash of hazelnut, she seemed to enjoy it even if the sour look on her face was to the contrary. Maybe she'd never had coffee before? Clark wasn't so sure. But she kept drinking it so he figured that was good sign. Getting a handle on Lois Lane was probably not going to happen- ever. “What was your degree in?”

“Um Journalism?” Clark didn’t understand why they were sharing a desk if she hated him so much. He had known Lois for all of ten minutes. Her desk had at least ten different size post-it notes in three different colors and she was working on three different Sudoku puzzles that were taped to her desk.

She also dragged his mug full of pens and pencils between the two of them and was using two of the said pencils to keep her hair in a twist.

“No undergrad. English or Communications?”

“I double majored in Sociology and Psychology and minored in Media Studies and Writing.”

Lois huffed at him in response and kept typing, her lower lip pressed between her teeth. She seemed to notice that she was doing that and stopped herself. “The General always says that having a tell is a sign of weakness. But we’re screwed.”

“Who’s The General?”

She stopped typing and reached below her feet. Clark looked through the desk and she removed her heels and pulled a piece of paper from a printer she had rigged together with a daisy chain of strip cords from the far side of the office towards where she moved their desks closer to the door. Apparently Cat Grant did not have a printer in her office and Lois stole one from somewhere to add to  _their_ office.

Plopping her feet on the desk she leaned forward to hand him the paper.

“We have four writers, ten photographers, a whole IT department, facilities and one security guard. Two of the photographers took one creative writing class in college and oh, three high school interns and one college intern-her major is graphic design. Jimmy’s in charge of layout. We can’t run a paper like this.”

Clark knew that. “We’re reporters, Lois. There’s always gonna be news. But you don’t strike me as a quitter.”

“I marched in to Perry White, Editor in Chief, Newsie’s Newsie, Perry White’s office and told him to handle his shit. Then I told him that you and I were going to keep this thing afloat while he gets his wife back. I have this tendency to talk a bigger game than I’m able to play, Smallville, one of my few character flaws, and Perry, one of my personal role models started to cry and then locked up his office and left. My brain hurts. He’s my father.”

“Perry?”

“No-not him, Smallville! _The General_ is my father. He never liked Dad. Especially after my mother died when I was twelve. I went to school in California because I was sick of the Midwest winters and my little sister Lucy, love her to death but she’s the spitting fucking image of my mother and I can’t be around her without arguing her about her sellout, blasse attitude towards becoming a lawyer. I double majored in Media Studies and IT with a minor in Media Law and Intellectual Property- writing always came easy to me, I didn’t need to study that to be good at it. I wanted to write for WIRED until I found out a professor on campus was inviting girls over for a study group where pants were optional for him and his buddies who were watching in another room. Sending him to prison was one of my only real personal accomplishments. Editor of the paper junior year, I worked for the SF Chronicle over the summers and when one of their dickbag staff writers dropped the ball on a court case where an innocent woman got her kids taken away from her- I sat outside the lawyer’s house for three days until he let me in with the notes I had taken-”

Clark wasn’t sure why Lois was word vomiting her whole life story to him but she eventually ended with, “-and that’s why I’m here. Now you officially know more about me than anyone else on this planet. I’m rough around the edges but I believe in trust being a two-way street.”

The idea came to Clark so clearly he just blurted it out, “We can’t print the paper.”

Lois sat up in her chair, her legs going back underneath the desk. Which is about the moment he realized he was staring at he legs. “What the fuck is wrong with you? I just gave you my whole life story about writing wrongs and righting them!” Mentally replaying her sentence back he wasn't exactly sure how he knew "writing" came first but maybe she was easier to understand the more time you spent with her.

Clark maneuvered his chair closer to her side of the desk and put his hand on her arm, “We need to go digital. You, Me and Jimmy on the streets. Live. We both know enough about tech and about writing to make this work. It’s the only way. Now if you’re done pretending your feet don’t hurt, let’s get some sleep and start fresh in the morning.”

Mentally pretending it didn't sound like he was inviting Lois to sleep with him, he stood up and turned off all of the monitors in their office and grabbed a sharpie out of the cup. Grabbing two post-its from her desk he scribbled their names on them. Packing up his stuff, he looked at the clock- 8PM. That morning he was happy to be a staff writer for the Daily Planet and now he was- co-lead staff writer. They’d have to hire more people and get some connections at the MPD. They’d have to do a lot of things.

Lois got her purse and held her heels in her hands tapping her foot waiting for him to follow after her. Slapping the notes over the plaque that said CAT GRANT on it he grinned,  Clark Kent and Lois Lane had a nice ring to it. They would make this work.

Walking Lois to the elevator her arm shot out to stop him.

“Aren’t you going to give me your sappy life story: living on a farm in America’s heartland, two great parents who treat you like you’re king of the world and how you always knew there was more to life than cornfields?”

“There’s more to life than cornfields, Lois.” Clark had to cough to mask the flirtation in his voice. He needed to stop. Pushing up his glasses he made a mental note to never tell Lois his life’s story. So he deflected with, “Although corn is very important to the economy as both food and a resource-”

“Oh my god, we are never talking about cornfields again, Smallville.” She stuffed her fingers in her ears and jammed the button for P4. “Wanna get a burger? I am starving and there is no food in my apartment. That new place- Big Belly Burger just opened up.”

“Do you promise not to write a scathing review if the drive-thru is too long?”

“Fine, but if the food is bad I make no promises.”

Clark was okay with that.

**

** CHRISTMAS FIVE YEARS AGO- CLARK **

 

> @DailyLois: Hurricane over most of Hawaii, all incoming and outgoing flights cancelled http://dai.ly/weather
> 
> @JimmyTheOlsen: @DailyLois you could always come over if you wanted
> 
> @DailyLois: Christmas with you and my sister? Pass.  
> 

“Mom, she is crazy. Absolutely crazy. She lacks morals and common sense- she is so rude I mean, we finally got enough cred to attend the Mayor’s Office press room and she completely forgets any other reporter in the room or that there’s a pecking order and just- UGH!”

Clark slammed the last hay bale a little too hard into the barn and his mother, perched on the edge of the pickup gave him a very pointed look.

“Didn’t you tell me her mother died when she was young and she refers to her father as “The General”? It’s Christmas time, Clark. I don’t need to tell you to have a little compassion for those with complex family issues. Also you talk a lot about her if you dislike her so much.”

The truth was he didn’t dislike her, not so much as the immature, rude way she acted. Lois was a brilliant reporter. Quick on her feet, smart. He never had to explain anything to her about where he wanted to go with a piece or their stupid Post It Notes that had taken over their whole office and part of the adjoining conference room. She let him ask questions, despite her name always going first.  _Lois Lane and Clark Kent_. He even sent IT a post-it note to put his name first in the website coding and she prevented it. She was an evil genius. Knew when to poke and prod, when to let the source open up. And their good cop, bad cop routine was down to the point they didn't even need to discuss it. Especially if the source was male- the secrets she'd gotten out of people it made him want to be a better journalist.

“Sorry Mom, I don’t hate Lois. She’s my partner and she deserves more than me ragging on her behind her back.” Clark got back into the truck and waited for his mother to sit in the passenger seat. 

Martha poked her head in the window and smiled at him in a very creepy way. “Do you think she stress smokes for fun?”

Clark laughed because Lois probably did, “I don’t know Mom, how did you even know that?”

“Because there’s a very strangely dressed woman, chain smoking, sitting on top of a suitcase on the road.”

Clark turned to where his mother was pointing and Lois was there shivering in the road. Wearing a dress and no coat and he had told her at least twelve times to buy a damn coat because it was winter in Kansas and if there was snow it was cold and it wasn’t going to magically be hot and sunny just because she wanted it to be.

“Damnit Lois.” Clark unzipped his parka and ran towards the road. Using his heat vision he warmed the jacket up before wrapping it around her body and putting his hands to her face. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

“Cabbies in this third world country apparently think private roads are too i-i-icy and when I said “Kent Farm” I didn’t i-i-imagine it was so bi-i-ig.” Lois’s teeth were chattering while she talked and Clark scooped her up, grabbed her suitcase and headed back for his mom’s truck. They were miles from the house and if he ran her there someone would probably see them. Kent Farm was really a nice way to say that all of the farmers had banded together to form a coalition against the big guys like Monsanto. His father managed most of the independent farmland in Kansas. Which anyone would know if they googled Kent Farm. He was surprised the taxi even brought her to the correct part of the farm.

“You’re really strong, Smallville.”

“You weigh like nothing and I grew up on a farm, Lois. Do you think I go to the gym every day for fun?”

“Honestly thought you needed the break from me.”

He supposed that was also true. Hearing the truck approach from the road, he took a few steps back and waited for his mom to stop before tucking Lois inside the car, her luggage in the trunk.

“Mrs. K, I’d really appreciate if you saved the ‘stupid city folk’ conversation until I can feel my legs if at all possible. My flight to Hawaii got cancelled due to a hurricane and then the power went out at my apartment and I felt weird crashing at Jimmy’s so-”

 “-so you took the train to Smallville?” Clark could not believe this woman. She was not invited nor wanted at his family Christmas. AND SHE SHOWED UP ANYWAY! Now he'd have to take the train back with her instead of flying.

“You talked up your mom’s chocolate pecan pie so much and I was already packed. Also we need to talk about your piece on the local businesses because I am not giving Luthor one more inch of screen space. He is a shady shiesty shadester and I am not giving that tyrant the time of day.”

“On what planet do you think I care about Lex Luthor? It’s called investigative journalism, Lois. I’m not writing a puff piece. My source at the electrical company said Luthorcorp has more than tripled their energy in the past month and after the Unidac deal fell through- he’s planning something and we need an inside man.”

Exiting the truck, he turned around and held his arms out to carry her.

“I can walk, Chauvinist Pig.”

“You’re wearing heels, it’s icy, and your legs are probably still a little numb. If you break your ankle, I will have to carry you up to our office on Monday.”

Lois pouted but held her arms out so he could carry her. “It’s not my fault The DP was built in the 30's when they didn’t give a shi-dang, give a dang, about the ADA.”

“Lois, she’s my mother, not a child in the 1950's” His mother stuck her tongue out at him before driving the truck back towards the garage.

Clark carried her towards the house a little slower than usual just be safe while they argued over revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act and whether or not their assistant filed for Historical Landmark status and by the time his Dad came home from town the two of them were in the living room on their laptops trying to figure out what Lex was up to.

_“Clark brought a girl home?”_

_“More like a girl brought Clark home. They started arguing the second she got here and then they didn’t stop until about two hours ago when I finally fed them and suggested that they needed to think of the problem differently for perspective.”_

_“He never said Lois was gorgeous.”_

_“He didn’t have it to. It’s all in the eyes, Johnathan.”_

Lois was wrapped in three different blankets in front of the fireplace, the Christmas tree to her left lit casting a glow on her face. She was gorgeous, especially when she was sitting still and being quiet. Laughing at his own joke, Lois looked up at him and gave him a sour look.

“Something funny, Smallville?”

Clark chuckled again before running upstairs to his room and bringing down two gifts.

“My mother got you something and wanted me to give it to you. And then I got you something. I just remembered I forgot to give them to you yesterday.”

Lois dug into her suitcase and handed him probably the worst wrapped gift he’d ever seen in his life, and then put another small box underneath the tree apparently for his parents.  “What’s that saying about great minds?”

She tore into her gift the second he tore into his and then started laughing. Lois cackled like a hyena it was so annoying and-

“What’s so funny?” Clark finally got all the duct tape off his present and held it up to Lois. He had gotten her a plaque for her desk with her name on it. She had gotten him the same thing. Same style, same size. They matched perfectly. Maybe this was finally her apology for trying to get him fired over his "gym" breaks. He needed a credible excuse for being gone during the day and he also needed his job at the Daily Planet. 

“Come on, it’s a little funny.”

Lois opened the gift from his mother and tucked it into her luggage. “It’s a gift certificate to Jitters.”

He could tell she was lying but he let it go.

_Many years later, after they’re married and Clark Jr. was born, his mother finally told them it was a letter she’d penned inviting Lois for Christmas, telling her that she knew what it was like to not have her mother at the holidays either._

**

** THREE YEARS AGO- CLARK **

 

> @DailyLois: Tweeting from Ambo. Explosion rocks southbound train tracks from the Metropolis Depot. At least ten confirmed dead.
> 
> @DailyClark: @DailyLois I'm taking your phone. You're going to see a doctor.
> 
> @DailyLois: @DailyClark a train exploded in front of me. I'm reporting this.   
> 

“Ms. Lane.”

Floating in the air outside her balcony, he tried not to startle her from whatever she was reading. She had wanted a meeting and he knew he’d better give it to her sooner than later. They kissed. Jimmy saw it. There had been an explosion, a train wreck and god Lois was underneath all of the rubble- he couldn’t breathe, his tears blurring his vision. He just kept digging and he didn’t care if the police were in the way or if-

If he was thinking rationally he would know it wasn’t adding up. She was driving home in her car and the train just happens to explode. Instead he was frantic while Lois had some woman’s sweater over her face to breathe and trying to get to her cellphone.

“God, breathe. I’ve almost died a lot, I’m used it by now, Superman. You’re just as bad as Clark. That little worrywart has been texting me non-stop to take some time off work. Who takes time off work when someone tries to kill them? He and I can figure it out faster than the cops.”

He was worse than Clark because he _was Clark_ and he kissed her. She was dirty and _bloody_ because a _train exploded near inches from her SUV_ and they had been arguing about her flirting with Superman and- he was in love with Lois. It hit him with startling clarity and then she wasn't talking and he was afraid he'd said the words out loud. But then he'd heard the explosion with his super hearing and he'd left his phone at the office and he'd been flying towards the explosion. 

“Sane people?”

“Ah, but I am not a sane person by anyone’s standards and I do not take threats on my life with kid gloves. Anyway, I called you here to talk about the _incident_ in which I am not allowed to investigate as the nice uniformed officers in the lobby informed me when I tried to leave. Last time I checked I am a US citizen and I have rights.”

Clark moved to sit on the edge of her balcony and she jerked him forward, her mouth slanting over his own before he could blink. This was wrong to lie to Lois but she had almost died and he didn’t like how that made him feel.

“This is a bad idea.” Clark exhaled trying to clear his thoughts.

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Clark was slowly going crazy. He couldn’t take it. Lois always talking about Superman, when _he_ was Superman. She was different around Superman, lighter maybe but it was more than that. She was so happy with a guy she just occasionally kissed and called for help when she was in life-threatening-situations. But he couldn't stop himself from kissing her, especially after all of the stupid, crazy things she insisted on doing all the time-

Interrupting his pity party, Jimmy put a sandwich on his desk. Lois was pacing in the conference room over her next interview with Superman, so Jimmy circled around her desk a few times before sitting down in her chair and spinning around a few times. "You know it’s ridiculous, you’re jealous of yourself.”

Clark was being petty, he knew. “I’m not jealous.”

“Yeah, CK, you are. You’ve been in love with Lois for years and now the other guy has her. Only you would have this particular problem, Buddy. You should just tell her how you feel.”

“Like you telling her you’re thinking about moving in w _ith her little sister_?”

Jimmy threw his sandwich wrapper at him. “Dude, Bro Code.”

“I am going to kill that sonofabitch.” Lois announced the two of them, stealing his sandwich from his hands, waving it around for effect. Well there went his lunch. Again. She stopped for a dramatic pause pulling the tomatoes out and dropping them on his desk before continuing, “You’ll never guess what he just did!”

Clark ate the tomatoes and waited obediently for her to exclaim the earth-shattering news.

“-That is so disgusting that you like raw tomatoes.” Lois said her face completely scrunched up like an adorable hamster.

“You eat black olives out of a can. At your desk. With your hands! They smell disgusting.”

“Well, if it bothered you so much you should have said something, Smallville. You’d think the guys downstairs would know how to make a damn sandwich-”

She made him feel like he was ten years old and he knew that she got him riled up and she knew it was immature and low of him but he finally blurted all of his frustrations out, “Lois, you’re eating _my_ sandwich!”

Lois looked at the sandwich and then at the sub that Jimmy was waving at her and then blushed. The bridge of her nose was bright red, emphasizing her light smattering of freckles. Embarrassed was not a look she wore often and he couldn’t look away. She sat down at the edge of her desk and mumbled a pathetic “sorry” to him into her chest. So Jimmy wouldn’t hear. Even though he was less than five feet away.

“I ordered you Tuna. Your favorite.” Jimmy tossed him the sandwich and he opened it for her.

She tried again, louder, “Sorry.”

Clark pushed up his glasses waiting for her to finish, “For?”

“For being my rude, brassy self. And for not thanking you for making sure I eat. And eating your disgusting tomato-ridden sandwich every day for the past three years. But not for the olives because they are delicious and you never said anything. Now you.”

Clark was proud of her. “I’m sorry for not telling you that eating olives out of a can at 10PM after we’ve been here for 24 hours straight bothers me.”

Lois smiled down at him and took one last bite of his sandwich before starting to eat her own. She broke off half for him and then opened his chips- the argument over. Though in hindsight, she did not promise to stop eating olives out of a can. She held _hi_ _s_ chips out to him and he munched them happily. Life was about compromise, he supposed.

Jimmy, eyes wide looked between the two of them. “Did Perry seriously send you guys to couples’ therapy _again?!_ And it WORKED?!”

“Quiet, Jimmy. After I eat this delicious sandwich I am going to tell you two the story about my relationship with Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne.”

“You slept with both of them and now they’re bajillionaires and ever since that Queen kid’s come back from the dead you think he’s The Arrow and Bruce Wayne is Batman? You’ve told us this story at least a hundred times.” Jimmy pointed out pulling a memory card from his pocket and downloading his latest batch of pictures for her approval.

“Yes but this time he has an obviously taller, bulkier stand-in! I swear these people think we’re morons! And if I wasn’t so- you know- _Lois-y_ I would rat them out so quick.”

He had always wondered why she didn’t write about her thoughts about the vigilantes. Clark figured the two men in question didn't remember hooking up with Lois because they'd probably have an increase of lawsuits.

“Lois knows they have lives and their secret identities are to protect their friends and family. That being a hero, nay, super hero is important and that saving innocent lives is a higher calling, only for the most noble people.”

Lois nodded in agreement but she might have just really been enjoying her sandwich. Clark knew what Jimmy was trying to do. He knew he should tell Lois the truth but he couldn't bring himself to tell her. She would never forgive him for lying and to her this long. 

**

** THREE YEARS AND A WEEK AGO **

 

> @DailyLois: @DailyClark It's not our fault the court-mandated therapists quit on us. How to find a therapist in the metro area: http://dai.ly/MentalHealthMonth
> 
> @DailyClark: How to get along with a troublesome co-worker: http://dai.ly/MentalHealthMonth
> 
> @PerryWhite: @JimmytheOlsen What does shade mean? Is that some new slang? Why did Lois make me this twitter account? Also why do all these people keep as
> 
> @JimmyTheOlsen: @PerryWhite- i'll just come to your office. You can't send emails via Twitter boss. Character limits!
> 
>  

The two of them did attend court mandated counseling sessions but the therapist usually quit on them after the first hour of the two of them arguing over the parking space or Lois asking if they had lemon wedges for the water they offered, the weather, or anything really. Clark vaguely remembered the last one quit because the two of them were arguing over who was writing their speech for their latest award. In that particular instance he wanted Lois to write it and she wanted him to write it. 

Clark knew they were difficult and that their relationship was complex but it came out of place of mutual respect and trust. No one seemed to get that over all the yelling except for the two of them. And sometimes Perry.

Their newest therapist let them argue for ten minutes and just asked them what they weren’t telling each other to which Lois snapped at him that she told Clark everything, to which Dr. Mitchell replied that maybe that was the problem.

Confused, Lois sat down and motioned for him to continue.

“Clark, I want you to stand up here and tell me everything you have never told Lois that bothers you.”

Lois rolled her eyes at that, but Clark straightened his tie and stood up. “Well, um. Where to start?”

“This is a safe space, Mr. Kent. You can go chronologically if that’s easier.”

Pacing, he thought about this morning when she drank his coffee and told him he got the wrong one. That was because she wasn’t paying attention. Or yesterday when she just assumed he’d pay for the parking at the Court House. Or how he always had to drive her car around for her, and then had to buy gas for it. 

Clark wasn’t sure what inspired him but he launched into a twenty-minute bitch session about her shoes. “She does not like wearing them. Why does she wear them? She kicks them off and then she walks barefoot in the parking lot. I’ve seen her closet at home, it’s a shoe shrine. She buys a pair every time we go shopping!  She has one pair of heeled boots. She never dresses for the weather. Every winter, I buy her a winter jacket, which she does not wear and just shivers and freezes. Look, she’s wearing a romper now! I have to unbutton so she can pee and then rebutton it when she’s done! The last time she ate a vegetable- not fried- was probably baby food 26 years ago. Her doctor is on the west coast so the one time a year she’s not inviting herself to my folk’s place for a holiday she goes and sees him. She’s lived in Kansas for three years. THREE YEARS. She swears like a sailor, she smokes like a chimney and is generally the most rude, inconsiderate person on the planet. Which I’ve somehow accepted but not when she’s rude and inconsiderate to ME.”

Clark can feel his blood pumping through his chest, the burden of the past three years just melts off him and he finally feels relief when he slinks down into the chair next to Lois.

Her hand flings to his knee and he has to stop himself from flinching away as if she burned him. “You know I don’t do it on purpose, right?”

“Yes, I know that but it still bothers me.” Clark took his glasses off and cleaned them on his shirt before putting them back on. He was avoiding eye contact.

“And you know- that I don’t know that, because you never tell me anything.”

“So what? It’s my fault for not telling you that you’re a godawful bitch sometimes?”

Lois exhaled (loudly) and then looked to the doctor so she could speak. “The first day we meet Clark and I did not get off on the best foot. But I know I can be a bit abrasive so I told him my whole life story. Real, gut-wrenching things about my mother, stuff I had never told anybody. I don’t know anything about him. He never talks about his parents even though I know Martha and Jonathan call him every Sunday night. His cousin graduated from college last year and he didn’t say anything. He always orders something different at the restaurant and his coffee is always different. He has no patterns.  I know I ask a lot of my staff writers and of him. But his goody-two shoes, holier than thou attitude is off-putting to the entire staff. The departments have a kickball team. Clark and I have never been invited. They do secret santa and go out to dinner together. IT is in a Prank War with Security. Fuck- Perry does his Elvis impression at gigs and they all go and hang out and talk together. He's all I've got and it's important to me that we make this work.”

The therapist wrote something a piece of a paper and ripped it off the notepad. He then ripped in half again.

“You two have the most complex relationship I’ve ever seen. Your under huge amounts of stress and instead of letting it rip you apart you’ve embraced it. Together. I’ve done couples therapy and partner therapy- with no one coming close to the sort of symbiosis the two you have. Clark, when Lois upsets you, tell her. She’s tough she can handle it. And Lois, try to be a little more cognizant of your actions and if you find yourself behaving in a manner that deems for an apology- apologize.”

Clark looked at the half-sheet of paper the therapist gave him: _Stop buying her coats. You’ll know why._

Clark _didn’t_ know the reason why. That was probably the most frustrating part.

Lois was still reading hers the whole way to the car and then finally finished she folded it up and put it in her lap.

Clark looked at her expectantly waiting for the big reveal. The therapist could not possibly have written so much it took her fifteen minutes to read. Unless he’d been writing the note the whole time they were in there and Lois hadn’t even turned her cellphone back on and-

“-it says: Think about everything the two of you have achieved in the past three years. The good things, the bad things. Now think about how wonderful and special it would be to tell your mother these things. Tell her. Write a letter. Visit her grave. Tell Clark’s mother. Whisper it at the top of the Daily Planet building. Finally, you need to love yourself before you can let someone else in, though I think you know this already. The first step is to take care of yourself. Call my office on Monday and we can setup some time for you to show up and yell at me for this letter.”

Part of him doubted that Lois knew how to cry but she did, Clark fishing the handkerchief out of his pocket.

“Of c-c-course you have a handkerchief.” Lois sobbed, leaning forward in her seat for some modicum of privacy. Clark didn’t like seeing her hurt like this. Hesitantly putting a hand on her back he rubbed small circles there until she sat up, tears dried, as if she had not just bawled for the past five minutes.

“Did you apply makeup down there?!”

“You’ll never know, Smallville. Now drive to that old rickety church on Pleasant Drive.”

Clark hated driving Lois’ gas guzzler but her new Prius was almost worse. She pulled her iPad out of his briefcase and started catching up on emails. Her hands wormed their way into his pocket and got his cellphone out to catch up on his emails, reading them aloud (even the spam).

“Who’s Lana? She’s in town and wants to get drinks.”

Clark slammed on the brakes and still somehow ended up on the curb. He didn’t know what would go worse: telling Lois about Lana or Lois’ reaction-

Lois googled “Smallville Lana” and threw his phone onto the floor in panic, “YOU KNOW THE PRESIDENT’S CHIEF OF STAFF!???!???!!?? AND YOU'RE JUST TELLING ME THIS NOW!??!??!! AND HIS WIFE, THE NEW INTERIM CEO OF LUTHORCORP?”

“There are three famous people from Smallville, I figured that came up when you were trying to get me fired. You’re the one who said to never to reveal sources.”

Lois’ jaw dropped at she kicked off her heels and stormed off towards the old church.

If Clark could get headaches, he’s sure he’d always have one around Lois. Following after her, he stopped short when she stopped in front of a grave, waving her arms around wildly. “He knows the Chief of Staff! I mean sure Dad is friends if you can call it that, with the President, but The General would never even make that connection with me. You know him, Mom. Integrity and Appearances, blah blah blah. And we finally took down Luthor and now the new CEO of his evil mega corporation is his high school sweetheart! And she wants to get _drinks_ what the hell is that? Married public figures should not be getting drinks with my- my- Clark.”

Opening her trunk, he hoped she had something blanket-like in there.

Five pairs of tennis shoes, two of the winter coats he’d given her and a bottle of Jack Daniels. Grabbing the bottle, a pair of shoes and a coat, he trudged over to where she was standing.

All of the grave sites were pretty worn down but the one for her mother was immaculate. She must pay someone to keep it up for her.

Putting the coat up behind her, she slipped one arm in, then the other and then resumed her pacing as if he wasn’t even there.

Heading back towards the car, there was a fire on Xavier St and he zipped over and then back while Lois was heading for the car.

“There’s a fire on Xavier St. Superman was there. Also I texted your little sweetheart that you- and by that I mean we- are going to meet her for drinks later.”

Clark waited for her to explain the other part of their afternoon and she stomped her foot petulantly like a child. “My mother was a high-society Metropolis girl. Said heels made a woman a woman. She dated Waynes and Queens and then met my father and gave up her fortune to be a military wife. She was the last of a long line of rich people so her parents gave her trust fund to charity and then she was buried here, where they got married. The General never comes to visit me because he can’t come back here. He loved her a lot. She died in a car accident going to the mall. Lucy and I needed new winter coats because we were getting shipped to Colorado for boarding school and we were being brats and didn't want to go.”

The fire truck sped past them and Lois told him to floor it. And that was the end of the conversation.

**

**TWO YEARS AGO**

 

> @CatGrant: Please welcome @JimmyTheOlsen to the Catco Team! He starts next month!
> 
> @DailyLois: @DailyClark, my office. now.
> 
> @DailyClark: @DailyLois, we share an office. I'm sitting across from you.
> 
>  

He’d expected Lois to yell and maybe beat up Jimmy but after she snapped the word “Traitor” at him she calmly walked out of the room.

“Well that went- well. I’m still breathing.”

Clark clapped his friend on the back in commiseration, “You just had to pick Catco, man.”

Clark went after her, through the conference room, through the bullpen and onto the balcony. She was smoking, and he made a mental note to tell the interns not to get her cigarettes anymore. She was the one who insisted that she wanted to quit.

“I get this one, Smallville.” Lois mumbled, tucking herself even further into the awning. If anyone would come looking for them, all they would see is Lois’ heels she’d kicked off at the door. The smoke left her mouth in a small cloud, Clark taking it out of her hands and taking a puff. It tasted disgusting.

“What?!”

Clark handed it back to her, “It’s a solidarity thing. It will never happen again.”

Lois took it back from him and took another drag. Clark had been in her orbit long enough to know that she was not handling this well. But she probably lacked the emotional- whatever- to express it. Even if she still saw Dr. Mitchell once or twice a month. They would both miss Jimmy. He was a- stabilizing force in their lives. The two of them could go at it for hours and he worried about where that left them without their safety net. 

Lois flicked the cigarette towards the balcony and Clark made a mental note to pick it up later. She surprised him, all the time, but she pulled her body close to his and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“I handle loss fairly well, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“If by ‘well’ you mean that you hold everything in on the inside until you crumble into a million pieces.”

“You can’t leave me, Clark. I need you.”

“Because you don’t share bylines with anyone else?”

Lois sat up to punch him in the arm, “No, asshole, because you’re my only friend. And I think Cat Grant has a crush on you.”

“She’s old enough to be my mother. Besides what would I tell my replacement? There is no amount of training that would allow another person to ever be your partner.”

Clark stood up and offered his hand to her to help her up. She accepted it with no complaint and then started talking about what they were going to do for dinner.

“Um, Lois? Didn’t you say you and the ‘not-my-boyfriend anymore’ were eating dinner tonight?” Clark inquired holding the door open and stopping to grab her heels. Lois walked on her tip toes as if the offensive shoes were still on and talked about Marty in _Food and Wine'_ s recommendation for a Korean barbecue that they were on the list for.

Lois paused outside their office and looked up at him. “Clark if you feel a fraction that I do then we need to have this dinner together. Superman will just have to wait.”

Sometimes he caught himself being in total awe of Lois. She was amazing. And then she ripped the heels out of his hand and threw them at Jimmy’s face. That was the reaction he was expecting.

Contrary to popular belief (and what Lois herself said to the DP gossip columnist- god, now he was saying DP like an idiot) Superman did not end things with Lois, she did. He had a burner phone for emergencies and she left him a voicemail that said she was re-thinking some things in her life and that maybe being the glamorous girlfriend of Superman wasn’t enough. She wanted to eat dinner in restaurants and maybe pop out a few kids.

The dinner goes well, with minimal bitching about Jimmy leaving.

Until the waiter spills a whole bowl of soup onto her lap. Glancing at the clock, they had to be back to the Planet in 20 minutes to start  their web show. Which was not enough time to get to Lois’ apartment.

Frustrated, Lois yanked him out of his seat and they headed back to the planet. There were no spare clothes in the office so she shucked the skirt off and walked towards the filming room pants less. Even without super-hearing he could her barking at the camera guys to keep their eyes up.

Groaning, Clark dropped his own pants and walked down the hallway after her. Sitting down at his chair, the lights cued up, Lois’ gaze stuck on his legs.

“This is Lois and Clark at 8, your live news source for Metropolis and beyond. I’m Clark Kent and this is Lois Lane. In tonight’s news, Governor Candidate, Pete Ross, was in Downtown Metropolis today to speak about his time as President Bryant’s Chief of Staff, and his ideas on how to make Metropolis even better in 2016.”

He had to pinch Lois’ leg to get her to snap out of it.

“In other news, it’s Fashion Friday, so we’ll send you to our Fashion Editor, Kate, who is at London Fashion Week.”

The lights went down and one of the camera men spoke over the silence, “Is Pantsless Friday a thing now?”

“Solidarity, Chris. Solidarity.” Clark chuckled.

**

**TWO WEEKS AGO**

 

> @DailyLois: How do you get your boyfriend to unpack your luggage for you?
> 
> @Felicity: @DailyLois I usually leave it directly in front of the door
> 
> @DailyLois: @Felicity good plan. 

 

They were watching a movie. They did it a lot- not that they actually were watching the movie, it was on in the background while the two of them were emailing with someone in China who was thinking of reporting for The Daily Planet.

“Lois if you call it “DP” one more time I am going to slap you.”

Lois smirked, standing up to grab their plates and head for the sink. “I’d like to see you try that, Smallville.”

His cheeks heated up and he could feel the blush creep up his cheeks. By her tone she was open to that idea and he needed to get his libido under control. Things had been- different between them since their trip to Star City. Now whenever they started bickering it ended up with Lois straddling him and if it weren’t for his ability to fly the two of them would be on the floor of their office.

Lois started washing the dishes and put them on the dish rack next to the sink. He must have gotten distracted because she was gone for awhile and when she came back she wasn’t wearing any clothes, save for the black- he didn’t even think the word _panties_ registered in his mind because his brain was not working. Down her smooth legs were thigh-high stockings that were held up by garters. Putting one hand on her hip she leaned against the doorway towards the kitchen and then fidgeted a bit before blowing the hair out of her face. God, she looked hot.

“Are we going to have sex or what Smallville? Because I have needs.”

She crossed the room towards the sofa and Clark tried to think about things like condoms or the ethics of having sex with your co-worker you were in love with and anything really but Lois was a _take what she wanted_ kind of girl. He had the feeling that was him- that opened another can of worms he wasn't mentally prepared to open.

For some reason his default response was to always egg her on more. “What kind of needs?”

Lois grabbed his tie, jerking his neck forward. She looked at him expectantly, one eyebrow raised, but he gave her what she wanted and leaned the extra inch so their mouths would touch. Falling towards the couch he grabbed her ass to guide him towards his lap, her knees making the sofa creak with the added weight.

Eyes closed, he tried to focus on anything besides how good Lois felt in his lap.

There was a car accident ten blocks away, the fire department was on scene already. There was a kid three floors down playing Xbox. He’d only had sex a few times and each time had not gone well for him. Trying to get his powers under control he groaned when Lois went for the shirt buttons while simultaneously trying to kill him via her sinful mouth. Kissing her was intoxicating, despite the fact he'd done it multiple times as Superman. Something was different now, with him, boring old Clark Kent. 

She was too good at multi-tasking and he was going to be very embarrassed very soon, if his aching erection was any indication.

Pulling away for air, he pressed his forehead against hers and tried to calm himself down. “You’re going to kill me.”

She slid his shirt off his shoulders and he flung it towards the lamp.

“I have spent the past three months wondering what you looked like shirtless, Clark. Lot of long, lonely nights.” Lois bit her lip and Clark could only imagine what she meant by that.

Probably three fingers deep and fuck- three months? That was nothing compared to the deep ache he had in his bones for her.

“Christmas. Five years ago. That’s when I first wanted you. I also hated you a lot which was a bit confusing but- you’re amazing Lois. You and the girls.”

His hands moved up her ribcage towards her breasts and smirked at the little jiggle they gave when he moved his hands. Her nipples were puckered and pink and he was definitely going to embarrass himself but he leaned forward and ran his tongue over the left while playing with the right.

Standing up, he smirked at Lois’ little exhale of breath when she locked her ankles around his back. Balancing her on one arm was easy when properly motivated and he was sufficiently distracted by her breasts. Practically tripping over the pile of clothes she left behind he crashed onto the bed and smirked.

“Clark Kent. Boobs man. Who’d think?” She panted, one hand in his hair the other on his abs.

He let go of her nipple with gentle nip and her whole body flinched. The side of her breasts were just as soft and he placed a kiss between the two of them for good measure before replying, “I stare at your chest every day. It’s pretty obvious.”

“Five years? Really? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“What was I supposed to say? Hi Lois, I know we hate each other but I’d really like to see you naked.”

“Maybe that’s been our problem all along, Clark. See I don’t even care about seeing you naked as long as you promise to fuck me from behind at work-”

The thought of that would be burned into his brain for the rest of eternity. Their desk at work- it would have be to his desk because every inch of hers was taken up with crap. Also it was further from the door so he'd have enough time to take her before they'd get caught. There were times Clark truly felt like an alien, despite spending the majority of his life on Earth. Then there were other times when he felt right at home. It was surreal- one moment he was perfectly fine, the next he was ripping Lois’ panties off and throwing them to the side of the bed.

Shucking his pants off he rolled them over again and Lois wrinkled her nose up at him.

“Really?”

“Yes, Really.” Why were they arguing about sex? Letting out a frustrated sigh, he rolled his hips so she could feel his erection against the inside of her thighs.

“Why?”

He pawed at her breasts again and smirked, “Gravity is definitely in my favor.”

It would also be easier for him to stay in control if she was on top. They then _kept arguing_ about how she always imagined him losing control was going to be hot and then he countered he was already hot and he spent all of his time pleasing her that she could do this for him and then they had a fucking discussion about birth control methods.

His hands were still on her perfectly formed breasts so he was not complaining.

“You seriously do not have condoms.”

“The only person I’ve wanted to have sex with in the past five years is you. And I thought hell was going to freeze over before that happened. I don’t even know if it’s going to happen and I think I can get off just thinking about groping your _tits_ so either get on or get off, Woman.”

“Horny Clark swears?”

“Tits is not a swear word. It’s a vulgar word reserved for the bedroom.”

Then they argued about swear words and their entomology and he was so fucking hard that he rolled them over again and thrust a few times against her very warm wet nether region and shuddered, “I want you on top of me. Now. In two hours, definitely in the morning. I will buy you a lifetime supply of Plan B tomorrow because you feel so good and you are on my last nerve and I want you.”

Lois _giggled_ at him before slinking out from underneath him and grabbing her pants.

Clark covered his eyes with his hands and prayed to whoever was listening just to kill him now. If she was storming out now he would never recover.

She jumped back on the bed with a sleeve of condoms and did some truly acrobatic moves to get the condom on and then she was riding him. Fuck she was tight. And fuck she had condoms the whole time and they'd spent the last ten minutes arguing so now whenever they'd argue he'd think of her practically naked in his bed. Life ruined. Thanks Lois.

“You said that outloud. Do I need to make a swear jar for you, Smallville?” She  _twirled her hips_ at him in response and if he could pass out he'd be unconscious. 

“Yes.” Clark grunted using one hand to hold Lois up, the other firmly grabbing the covers. He needed to stay in control. It would be so easy to break Lois' soft, pliant, magical body in half. Or freeze her. Or Burn her, he was going to die. Lois was going to kill him.

Blowing as quietly as possible away from her body, his plan backfired when the air hit his windows and then came back. Lois shivered, her nipples straining even more- yes he was going to die. Exhaling again his free hand moved to the juncture of her thighs looking for her clit. His fingers moved faster than he intended and he was caught Lois was going to figure it out and then she was increasing her pace, shuddering in pleasure. She bore down on him and he lost it, he felt his orgasm all the way down his leg and to his toes. The two of them were a good three inches off the bed in the air but she didn’t seem to notice and it felt too good to try and stop it. The two of them floated back towards the bed, Lois' spasming body coming to rest on top of his. She rubbed her chest against his to get comfortable and his cock twitched. He really did have a thing for her  _tits._

“I have never come so hard ever.” Lois mumbled weakly, her hand still trembling a little when she laid it on his chest. Clark tried to keep the pleased smiled off his face and failed. Grabbing her hips to gently lift her off him, he felt that this was definitely a good start to this part of their relationship.

“Glad I could-”

“Shut up. You’re running this moment by being a man.” Lois kissed his chest and then the tip of his chin before falling sleeping on top of him. Even in his afterglow, they had to argue. Chuckling at his own joke, he gently rolled Lois off him, pulled the covers around them and went to sleep-

-Clark woke up to Lois poking him in the face. “You have no ice cream. You are not human.”

Groaning, he took one look at the clock and frowned. “Lois, it’s 2AM.”

She had stolen one of his dress shirts and he wasn’t sure where her underwear ended up last night but he was exhausted and she looked positively stunning. Flushed, hair a mess. “Lois come back to bed.”

“A girl needs ice cream.”

“A girl needs to get in bed.”

Clark made a grab for her middle and rolled them over so he was on top. She whined about the ice cream some more and he couldn’t think straight because she was soft and underneath of him. He never thought that they would be together. Not like this.

“Once the shock of the mind-blowing sex wears off, don’t think you can start bossing me around.”

 “Never.” He was already falling back asleep, using her chest as a pillow was going to be his new favorite sleeping position. One hand sneaking up the shirt he kneaded the soft flesh of her breast and tried to get a peek between the buttons. Moving most of his weight off her body, he normally didn’t like sleeping on his stomach but he knew he’d adapt.

“You’re buying me breakfast tomorrow. As a 'thank you' for the sex. Five years, pshh. If I knew you were packing that in your pants-”

“Yes, Dear.” He chuckled kissing the shirt and then letting himself fall back asleep.

He could get used to this.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for all the great feedback on Pages. I feel like there is a sore lacking of L/C fics.


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